July 26, 2009

Sunday, 26 July 2009 00:00

Viktor and I went to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival last week. It was a last minute decision. We are both trying to save money for our trip to Spain next month so we decided not to go. The day before our friends were driving there they asked if we wanted a ride. We thought about it but still decided against it because we’d need to find accommodations and pay to get into all of the films but then they offered to get us press passes which would allow us to see four free films a day without waiting on lines or anything. How could we say no? I easily shifted my work schedule around and we decided to stay there for four days. The only problem, all of the hotels and hostels were booked. Our friends, a married couple with two children who had gotten their parents to babysit for two days said we could sleep on the floor. It was a nice offer but we didn’t want to impose. Viktor said he knew of a makeshift hostel, so I agreed, when else would I have such an incredible opportunity.


The next morning we packed our sleeping bags into the car, Viktor made us some espresso, then we hopped into the car and we were on our way. I haven’t been in a car in Prague yet, so it was actually strange to be in a car in my neighborhood. It was kind of nice. I haven’t had a car for years, you don’t need one in Brooklyn, making use of a bike & the subway will do just fine. Here, the metro, trams and my bike, also work but it was kind of nice to ride in a car. I read and slept for most of the ride while everyone else spoke in Czech. I understood a lot of it but had to listen really hard because there was music and so I opted for sleep. I love sleeping in cars with the windows open, so nice. I’ve always been a bad sleeper and my mother told me that when I was little if I wouldn’t sleep, I’d be strapped into the car seat and within minutes I’d be out. Some things never change; Viktor woke me when we got there.

Our friends rushed off to a film and Viktor and I got to work on the schedule. The way it works is that you can only buy tickets for that day or the following day. It was hard to choose, there were so many good films playing but the way the schedule worked it was very easy to see four a day and sometimes five. I learned quickly however that watching films in a dark room all day and going to parties all night, a lot more tiring than one would imagine. Karlovy Vary is a beautiful place. It’s a spa town. Not our conventional understanding of a spa town though. They have springs everywhere so you can swim or simply drink this healing water. Doctors still prescribe it, usual along with other remedies. Of course I had to try some of this so-called healing water, it was hot but not too hot and it sort of tasted like I was drinking a rock. I made it a point, however to drink a bit every day we were there. It couldn’t hurt right? Let’s hope not anyway.



So after we saw our films for the day, we picked our bags up that we’d stored in our friend’s office and it was off to our ‘hostel’. Viktor had warned me, we were to stay in a school building that was empty for the summer and just sleep on the floor in our sleeping bags. By the time we’d gotten there, it was packed. We ended up sleeping on the floor in the hallway, we weren’t the only ones, there were people everywhere, next to the bathroom, trash bins, closets, you name it. It was an adventure to say the least. When we woke up we noticed that people left there sleeping bags out, as to save their spots, so we found a nice classroom the next day, it was wonderful to come home and just slip into our bags and not have to hunt. The next day I woke up and did a little snooping, we got really lucky. I found a small storage room off the classroom it had a giant window, a cabinet, a desk, two outlets and even a hanger. Ha, it’s funny how quickly your standards change. It was as if we were in a five star hotel, it was perfect.

 

 



 



The dance parties were nice and just walking around Karlovy Vary was beautiful, it was rainy the entire time but we had windows of sunshine and they were spent sitting by the river eating or reading. It was just nice to be there; the air was so fresh. The films, wow, I saw some amazing ones, some good ones and only two really bad ones, not bad considering that we averaged four films a day! I had to leave Karlovy Vary a day ahead of Viktor, small Czech children were calling and I had to answer. But isn’t it my luck that four hours after I left, both Antonio Banderas and John Malkovich walk right past him?!

There’s a lot more that I want to say but I fear that this is getting too long. Maybe I’ll just tell you about my favorite films and be on my way. There were just so many, so hard to decide. Maria Larssons Eviga Ogonblick, it was a beautifully told, heartbreaking story about love, alcoholism and violence. Clearly the names of the films are in their original language. The next is Nije Kraj, it’s a long complicated story but it consists of love, death, heartbreak, humor and so much more. It’s also the first Serbian Croatian coproduction ever done, so it’s a pretty important film and an original one too. The last I’ll mention, which I didn’t love, it really freaked me out actually, is Antichrist. It’s so scary but not typical scary movie scary, psychological scary which I think is much much worse. Let’s just say when the film ended and everyone was walking out, I just sat and blankly stared at the screen with my knees curled to my chest until the usher said we had to leave. It’s not for the feign of heart, that’s for sure. If you’ve seen and enjoyed any of Lars Von Trier’s other films, then you’ll love it.


So let me sign off until next time. I’ll update you on our lovely trip to Budapest! My grandparents are from there and it’s my first time visiting. It’ll be Viktor, Ulana, some new friends, Koen and Cara and me. We have been given so many suggestions about where to go and what to do. I’m so excited! I look forward to writing about it!

Andrea Galas
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